Speech in Support of H.R. 266 - Paycheck Protection Program Replenishment

Speech in Support of H.R. 266 - - Paycheck Protection Program Replenishment

April 23, 2020

 

Madam Speaker:

 

When we passed the Paycheck Protection Program, I warned that serious flaws would deliver a windfall to businesses that do not need it, at the expense of those that do. That is exactly what happened, exhausting the fund within days.

 

Now, it is imperative to replenish this program to assure that small businesses that desperately need these funds receive them. This could have been done two weeks ago, but for Democrats' demands that wasted time and added costs.

 

I supported the CARES Act only because I believed a better bill could not be produced, given the current House majority. For the same reason, I support this bill – but with a grave warning. Unprecedented and unconstitutional government edicts have deliberately destroyed the livelihoods of millions of Americans and have set in motion an economic depression and government insolvencies that threaten the very survival of our nation. They must end now.